Looks like someone has one for sale?
Old : top button was harder gear, bottom was easier gear, the finger behind brake lever corresponded to top button (harder gear)
Switching over I reversed the direction
New: top button is easier gear, bottom button is harder gear, the finger behind brake lever still corresponds to the top (easier gear)
The new setup does feel more like mech in the sense that the harder gear is down and under the bar. I liked being able to shift to a harder gear using the front button before but in hindsight only used it when out of the saddle sprinting (rare) and i didn’t like having my index finger back there in case I needed to suddenly use my brakes. In practice I can still use the new setup out of the saddle
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you can always swap the functions in the AXS app if you want buttons to operate opposite. The problem I had with the new one is no matter where I put it the knuckle of my thumb, when I was gripping the bars to descend, was hitting the edge of the big part of the paddle. Very irritating and a bruised knuckle after a short ride.
If you look at Cleanneon98’s pics that is a left side matchmaker clamp which allows you to push the pod even further from your hand. Most people aren’t going to have the left version which means the pod crowds your right thumb and hand even more. Of course if you’re using a separate clamp for the shifter it is easier to re-position it.
Actually was a instragram post from Kate Courtney with her XC bike and she had the old lever on there. Someone asked and Brad Copeland, her mechanic, responded and said she can’t use the new version for the exact same reason I just stated…her thumb knuckle hits the paddle when wrapping your fingers around the bar. Anyway, yeah if someone wants mine just DM me.
Here is what a right side matchmaker looks like. See how much those levers are in the way unless you move the pod or your entire brake lever much further to the left?:
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And to add to that I also moved the mounting point at the matchmaker to move it further inwards. Had the same thumb issue described above till I did that. Am very happy with the setup in my pic though
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Has anybody done a mix of Shimano and SRAM AXS? Currently have a bike being built up with latest Shimano XT and wanted to add the GX AXS system. I was contemplating keeping the Shimano chain, crank, and cassette to have the shifting of Shimano and ease of electric with SRAM. I haven’t found a lot of people mixing nowadays. Any reason not to do this?
Lots of folks do this, the hardware (chain, cassette, ring) should all be one make preferably, for Shimano Hyperglide I think it has to be, but the jockey wheels are similar enough to run an AXS mech with Shimano chain through it.
I think the thing is that the road stuff has a 36t max rear cog and the mtb stuff has basically a 50t min (per Open bikes). So… for my Gravel bike I usually run 1x 42 - 11-36t in flat chicago. I’m going to to SD, CA next month where there are HILLS. If I went AXS road, I’d need to run some tiny 36t front ring and not have any road speed or Eagle with 15% jumps between gears. In any case, there’s a big gap between their 10-36 and 10-50 offerings.
10-36t 338gr (Rival) + 266gr RD
10-50t 355gr + 390gr RD
Note: 11sp 11-28 275gr; 11-36 366gr
(interesting that the weight isn’t that different)
10-50 v 36 : Bicycle Gear Calculator
What this middle tier should do is let me share between the two cassettes and not have to spend an extra $100 /wheelset (for the Eagle) to have the right gear/tire combo. This would also be 1x specific clutch for Force, vs the damper on the road setup. (Note: 1x is so much better than 2x, that I’ll deal with multiple cassettes; running 2x12 is stupid - change my mind; …and running a tiny front ring isn’t great)
In theory, road AXS tops out at 33 (the 10-33 is probably the most common cassette), but there are fairly widespread reports of getting it to work ok with the 10-36 wide road cassette (so not needing the ‘wide’, i.e. long cage, road mech). See https://blog.3t.bike/2020/05/14290/sram-force-axs-wide-gearing-hacks-gravel-bike-tech/
When I was contemplating a Force AXS setup for the incoming ‘groad’, (46/33 and 10-36) the LBS agreed that either road mech would work as long as it was a 2x setup.
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I’m a simple man, road bike 52/36 x 11-28 and MTB 32 x 10-50. The in between world of CX/Gravel confuses me. That said I think some said the SS Ultegra derailleur can run as big as a 34 though I think it’s only rated for 30. I don’t need big gears so never validated but I think most manufacturers are conservative in their “recommended range” stuff probably for longevity. I’m sure it’s not great for the clutch in the derailleur to be extended beyond a certain angle for long periods (I store all my bikes with the RD in the most compact position to avoid this problem)
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I’m not a strong enough rider to ride 36x28 as a bottom gear, at least not where I live. I’m on the edge of the Chilterns in the UK, and while climbs over 3km are pretty rare - you’d have to go looking - you will find a lot of short (1-1.5km) climbs with an average gradient >10% and short sections over 20. I’d get over them with a 36-28 - my previous bike had a 36x30 and it was manageable, just - but it was/would be pretty grindy, especially by the end of a long ride.
The big appeal of road AXS, for me, is the 48/35 and 10-33 standard setup. That gives me/anyone as much gear as they’d ever need in any road situation, including racing, while also giving you a genuine bailout/take the bike to the Alps bottom gear, without a) having the hassle and expense of changing cassette, derailleur or b) massive gaps.
I think you’re right, in an ideal world, on the clutch, and I think if you were planning to run the 10-36 from the off, I’d get the wide rear mech. The suggestion of making a standard one work is probably for someone who either already has the standard mech, wants to avoid the expense of a new one, or - quite likely at the moment - simply can’t get a wide one.
This is really the only bad one locally you can see where I had to stand at the end where it was 17-20% but that’s the only place I can’t sit and pedal in the small gear
AXS gearing is definitely supreme to Shimano as far as range
I have my new paddle mounted so that the right edge of the paddle is about even with the lock ring on the grip. That keeps it out of the way of my hands on the grip but is easily in reach of my thumb. For me, the big paddle top is harder and the little one is easier. If tried it both ways and that just seems more natural to me. I never accidentally hit the wrong button this way while when the were reversed I would hit the wrong one half the time.
I do like my AXS Eagle but I had to replace my rear derailuer after 7months at great expense. Not a big crash either…
Yes we went over this before and you posted the video a few times
Ah yes, must have been a different thread. After riding it for 18 months I must say I do like it over mechanical so I think I would upgrade to the more affordable GX Option, especially if it isn’t an XC bike.
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I wouldn’t go back to mechanical either personally, especially with the price of the GX derailleur. I think X01 has tighter tolerances at the pivot points where the parallelogram holds everything together so it may be a bit more precise, maybe. Bearings are different at the jockey wheels as well IIRC, maybe longer lasting in that regard. That said I probably would be ok with some of the trade offs for saving half of the X01 cost.
I also think you just got unlucky with the type of impact, it just sucks because it wasn’t a cheap derailleur. We’re you using the SRAM UDH on that bike at the time? I know it allows for the whole derailleur to pivot backwards in the event of a hit from the front which may be helpful too
@Cleanneon98 Yes I probably was just unlucky and would have replaced it with GX, I have the Norco’s stock derailleur on the bike. I might have to see if the SRAM UDH works on the Norco.
I can’t seem to find a list of compatible bikes but I believe a lot of companies started designing with UDH in mind in 2020 when it hit the mainstream. Anything older may not be compatible. My 2018 FUEL wouldn’t fit it, but the 2020 refresh had it